Located 25 kilometers northeast of central Baku, it is politically part of the Baku city-subdivision and treated as a suburb. Unlike the rest of the country which is staunchly secular and which is considered religiously progressive, Nardaran is a lone center of conservative Shi'aIslam in Azerbaijan.

The town is the site of an early-14th-century castle, featuring a round tower approximately 12.5 meters high. During Soviet rule, the town was known as a center for growing flowers. Since Azerbaijan's independence, the economy has dwindled and the town is reputed for its caviar poachers.[2]

Nardaran is the only place in the whole of Azerbaijan where its inhabitants are devoutly religious and conservative, where its streets display religious banners and where most women wear chadors in public. The town is home to a madrassah as well as the Rehime Khanim Mosque, a large Shia mosque built in the late 1990s over the tomb of Rahima Khanim, the sister of ImamReza. The now banned Islamic Party of Azerbaijan was founded in this town and its base was centered there. Nardaran has been the site of strong protests and unrest, notable riots in June 2002 over what protesters deemed inadequate living standards and another in January 2006 which resulted in the deaths of three people.[3] Ironically Nardaran is possibly one of the poorest places in Azerbaijan, while it is so close to the richest place in Azerbaijan, Baku.